This
is despite the United States already expressing concerns regarding AIIB and its
capability to pass social and environmental standards and China's already
growing diplomatic influence in the region. Still, about 30 nations, including
major EU members, participated in this economic project.

Now,
even the notable allies of the US -- South Korea, Australia and Japan -- are
reportedly reconsidering.

Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso announced
that they are considering joining the AIIB if they can confirm that it has a
"credible mechanism for providing loans". However, other Japanese
senior officials remain doubtful if participating in a China-led bank could be
truly advantageous.

"We
have been asking to ensure debt sustainability taking into account its impact
on environment and society. We could (consider) if these issues are guaranteed.
We'll give it careful consideration from diplomatic and economics viewpoints.
There could be a chance that we would go inside and discuss. But so far we have
not heard any responses," commented Aso.

AIIB
is also seen as a competitor of ADB (Asian Development Bank) which is a regional
financial institution based in the Philippines. It is basically dominated by
the US and Japan, with its leader customarily coming from the latter's finance
ministry or the Bank of Japan.

The
former president of ADB and current BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda cautiously
said, "There are huge needs, demands for infrastructure investment in
Asia. On the other hand, the World Bank and ADB have been helping countries in
Asia to improve infrastructure for the last 50 years."

Despite
being a China-led financial institution that the US is warning against, AIIB
got Tokyo concerned of missing out on opportunity for more regional
participation, reports Corliss Online Financial Mag.

Meanwhile,
Australia's Treasurer Joe Hockey said participating in AIIB has the potential
to benefit local companies and should not adversely affect their relationship
with the US. At any rate, he added that a final decision has yet to be made,
although Corliss Online Financial Mag got reports that Australia could decide
to formally join this week with as much as USD 2.3 billion in investment.

"There
is a lot of merit in it, but we want to make sure there are proper governance
procedures. That there's transparency, that no one country is able to control
the entity. And because it's operating in our region, in our neighbourhood, it
is important that Australia fully understand and look at participating in this
Bank," said Hockey.